I graduated with my Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from Fordham University and completed my postdoctoral training in Quantitative Psychology at the University of Michigan. My research examines puberty, a critical biopsychosocial transition that shapes cognition, health, and wellbeing in complex ways. I use a range of methods to understand the effect of puberty on the lifespan. I can “zoom out” using large, longitudinal studies to understand the cumulative consequences of pubertal development on later health and wellbeing, but I can also “zoom in” on behavior using intensive longitudinal studies to capture the mechanisms that may underlie long-term change. In doing so, I have been able to situate short-term fluctuations in moods, behaviors, and cognitions within larger developmental processes and connect short- and long-term changes with a wealth of later life outcomes including mental health, physical health behaviors and outcomes, and achievement and socioeconomic status. Recently, I have begun pivoting my body of work to better understand how contraceptive choices interact with pubertal development and underscore later development. Most hormonal contraceptive use begins in adolescence while the body and mind continue to develop, but adolescent reproductive choices and their effects on later behavior are largely ignored by developmental psychologists. My goal is to bridge and incorporate developmental theory and methods with family planning research to better understand reproductive health and support young people as they first begin to navigate family planning systems Researcher or researcher in training